welcome to al jazeera america, i'm del walters, these are the stories we are following for you. >> we will never see the likes of nelson mandela again. >> remembering nelson mandela, leaders from around the world paying tribute to a global icon as south africa says good-bye to the father of a nation. showdown in in iran, a bipartisan group of senators pushing for tougher sanctions as secretary kerry is on the hot seat. an historic announcement at an auto maker as the nation's first female ceo is tapped to run the country. ♪

tens of thousands of people gathering today at a johannesberg soccer stadium to stay good-bye to the father of modern south africa. but the stadium wasn't filled to capacity. it rained. it rained hard. mandela's statute was always recognized. dozens of world leaders past and present joining to pay tribute. the man who planned the event says this is exactly how nelson mandela would have wanted it. >> we were not able to stop the rain, but this is how nelson mandela would have wanted to be sent off. these are blessings in an african tradition, when it rains, when you are buried, it means that your gods are

welcoming you and the gates of heaven are most probably open as well. >> and that perhaps set the tone for the itself, cyril ramaphosa talking about the rain and this day belonging to one man and one man only. ♪ nelson mandela, nelson mandela >> reporter: the life and regularsy of a man who changed his nation and the world was celebrated in south africa. >> you are lodged in our memory. you tour over the world like a com comet, believing streaks of light for us to follow. >> reporter: dignitaries speaking of his devotion to equality for all, and challenging everyone everywhere to carry on that. >> while i will always fall short of his example, he makes me want to be a better man. [ cheers ]

>> he speaks to what is best inside of us. >> we do not call him the father of our nation, merely for political correctness or relevance. we do so because he laid a firm foundation for the south africa of our dreams, one that is united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous. >> reporter: dignitaries challenging people everywhere to carry the torch. the diversity also lead to interesting moments. president obama shaking rand with the president of cuba, a handshake that will not be well received by some in america. but the day was not about politics. it was about a man, a man who was the face of man's humanity

to man. nelson mandela also making several trips to the white house. his relationship to each president ranging from cordial to course. morgan ratford has more. >> reporter: 1986 an historic moment for the united states congress because the majority voted to over ride their leader, president ronald reagan who vottoed the ban due to apartheid. >> reagan was continuing back to the nixon era, the kennedy era, and before that. he firmly believed that the african national congress was a terrorist organization, that nelson mandela was a terrorist. he did not believe those people

were groups with whom one could work. >> mendelson did not forget his lack of support. but george wh bush welcomed nelson mandela to any white house for the first time. >> mr. mandela in the eyes of million around the world you stand against apartheid, against a system that bases the rights and freedoms of citizenship on the basis of one's skin. that is repugnant to the ideals we in america hold so dear. >> reporter: he calls mandela the man who enbodies the hope of millions, and said apartheid must end. >> to receive the support of any

government is in our situation something of enormous importance, but to receive the support of the government of the united states of america, the leader of the world is something beyond words. >> reporter: this support helped mandela politically. >> and defend the constitution of the united states. >> reporter: but when bill clinton was elected the relationship grew personal. mandela made numerous trips to the u.s. including soon after his election as president of south africa. and president clinton traveled to south africa and visited the jail cell mandela called home. >> he is a ferociously loyal

friend. >> reporter: mandela stuck by his american counterpart. >> we have often said that our morality does not allow us to desert our friends. [ cheers and applause ] >> i think he found an individual in bill clinton. >> reporter: they remained close after clinton left office. >> there were many opportunities that bill clinton took to visit south africa to meet with mandela, to work together on anti-aids movements and many other things. >> reporter: mandela's relationship with president george w. bush was not as friendly. after the attacks on september 11th -- >> i know you have a strong leader, and the people of the united states of america can face disaster. >> reporter: he supported george

bush's actions in afghanistan but was a critic of the actions in iraq. >> we honor nelson mandela for his profound achievements. >> reporter: despite this president bush awarded mandela the presidential medal of freedom. >> mandela would have certainly been inspired by the idea of a black american become president of the united states. likewise i by obama would have been inspired by a black man being president of south africa. >> reporter: the two met in 2002 when obama was a junior senator. he hoped to see him for a second time in 2013 but the meeting was abandoned because mandela was critically ill. in a statement president obama said . . .

>> reporter: president obama and his family did visit the prison on robin island where mandela spent the majority of his incarceration. the first black president of the united states honoring the first black president of south africa, his certainal inspiration. >> your struggle, your commitment, and your discipline has released me to stand before you today. [ cheers ] >> reporter: nelson mandela a man beloved and admired throughout the world. and south africa and the world still have a few more days to pay tribute to nelson mandela. beginning tomorrow and running through friday, mandela will lie in state. on saturday his remains will be

flown to his childhood village. on sunday he will be laid to rest after funeral service. secretary of state kerry testified about an agreement with iran. many are critical about the deal. they say it doesn't eliminate the threat that iran could one day build a nuclear weapon. libby casey what concerns do members of congress have? this >> dell, this is just a six-month interim agreement, and the parties hope it yields a stronger deal after the six-month window. and while it does include inspections of sites and does have some elements in place that would curve the development of a nuclear weapon, the country does want to move forward. they are concerned that the sanctions is willing to loosen up a little bit on are an

important point of leverage. now to expect to hear that hot issue at the hearing today. secretary kerry standing by the deal that he and his team helped to broker. he says while he recognizes there are some that have concern that the u.s. and its allies are getting the wool pulled over their's he stands by what will happen next. >> let me say to you very simply, i have spent almost 30 years in the senate. i chaired the foreign relations committee. i understand military insecurity issues, and i understand the fundamental basics of -- as does the president and most of the people around us -- what is necessary for a nation to prove it has a peaceful nuclear program. >> dell expect to hear tough questions both from republicans

and democrats. secretary kerry is not going to get andy ride from democrats at this hearing. >> there are rare world implications for what happens in congress. what is at stake? >> absolutely. secretary kerry says if they oppose the sanctions, it sends the message that the united states isn't serious. yesterday reporters were told that even some sanctions that wouldn't kick in for six months after this interim agreement period could harm the fundamentals of what is going forward. a couple of senators are working on a bill that we expect to drop today and be made public. democrats and republicans trying to work together to impose sanctions if iran doesn't make progress. but secretary kerry will push back on that today at this hearing. >> libby casey thank you very

much. also in washington the pressure is on for congress to end the year on a productive note. there is a laundry list of issues they need to tackle before leaving for christmas. millions of americans could be facing a cut in their food stamps if the farm bill doesn't pass. mike where do things stand specifically with the farm bill in >> you are right. a much higher price for a gallon of milk. it's the lower-income americans who have the most to lose or gain. you might look at a farm bill and say this must be the most mundane policy in history. but it has real consequences. billions of dollars in this subsidies go to farmers every year, most of them to big farms not the family farmer at all. and billionaires are getting

subsidies. paul allen of microsoft, and penny pritzker who is a democratic fund-raising rain maker and billionaire in her own right. and there are big concerns about the crop insurance program. they say that is wasteful as well. you have tea party and fiscal conservatives who say it is too liberal, as well as liberals who say the cuts are so dire. >> mike, if this bill doesn't get done people with food stamps it seems are going to get hit hard and get hit hard right before the holidays. >> and it is lower-income americans who will bare the brunt of this.

both of the versions cut the food stamp program. the senate does it much more lightly, the house much more substantially. they cannot agree -- and so what happens? you have -- you have people on both sides on the left and on the right who can'ting a -- can't agree. there is a watchdog groups who are very critical. let's listen to this. >> there are ore ways that the government ends up elevating the price of crops through price supports. there are price supports in the farm bill where the government is guaranteeing a certain price for each crop, so if the market for whatever reason doesn't give you that price, then we step in and directly pay producers a higher amount of money. >> the taxpayer steps in. billions and billions of dollars

at stake here. still no agreement on a farm bill, dell. >> mike viqueira joining us live from the white house in washington thank you very much. bill clinton's former chief of staff is joining the obama administration. he will become a senior counselor to the president. president obama's approval ratings are now at all-time lows. he has been an outside advisor to the white house since 2008. the democratically lead senate confirming the president's first judicial nominee. previous senate measures blocked nominations, but under new rules republican ares have been stripped of their power to filibuster. coming up the agency tasked with destroying syria's chemical weapons says it might miss a deadline. and the first female ceo at

a major auto maker. and the coldest day ever recorded on planet earth happened just yesterday. we'll tell you where and how cold it got.

and here is a look outside live over new york city. i'm meteorologist dave warren looking at the snow moving through the northeast. the visibilities are down. not all that low, though. so the snow is fairly moderate but it is sticking. watching this closely, because it is sticking, causing a lot of problems on the roadways, and that snow coming down pretty heavy. an inch or two an hour, but look what happens at 3:00. 4:00 or 5:00 that snow clears out, so we are seeing it end before the evening rush hour.

temperatures are just below the freezing mark, so the road treatments have worked. there is snow coming from the arctic blast which will be lake effect snow. 34 in new york, 32 in philadelphia. the main roads are just wet. the side roads are pretty slick. a look at the cold arctic blast a little bit later. ♪ taking a look at our top business headlines, the auto maker industry making history today. gm about to be the first major car company to have a woman as its ceo. she is going to be succeeding the previous ceo next month. she says gm as a boys club is a dated conception. berra is currently in charge of product development and quality of all gm cars. she has been with the company

for 33 years. and joined when she was just 18 years old. after yesterday's record-setting day on wall street, a it will -- little less enthusiasm today. investors are playing it close to the vest. the head of the united nations watch dog group trying to eradicate chemical weapons accepted this year's noble peace prize. they say the toxic effects of chemical weapon have an atrocious effect. the opcw was formed to enforce a convention outlawing chemical weapons. in august a chemical attack killed hundreds of people in a damascus suburb. it says it might miss the

deadline. the head of the chemical weapons watchdog agency saying it will be quite difficult to meet the deadline. a natural disaster straight out of a movie that has critics now looking to stop it.

power of the people until we restore our freedoms and right

welcome back to al jazeera america, i'm del walters. these are your headlines today. close to 90 world leaders joining a crowd of thousands in johannesberg to remember nelson mandela. president obama was among the speakers shaking hands with cuban president, raul castro. american forces are joining the effort to stabilize the war attorney central african republic. the pentagon says that personnel will not be fighting. more than 400 people have died since last week. the french president is

traveling there today. los angeles is the movie capitol of the world, but a developer has plans of building the city's tallest skyscrapers right above a fault line. >> reporter: imagine hollywood before all of this, when it was citrus groves for as far as the eye could see. then came the movie studios, the walk of fame and the iconic records building. now imagine skyscrapers. >> this project will celebrate the idea of community. >> reporter: these are artist renders of the proposed towers, more than 1 million square feet. l.a. city council approved the project this year. >> what they have planned is high-rise developments and

obstruction of neighborhoods. we want to protect our community. >> reporter: so long f-time hollywood resident is suing both the city and the developer. he is joined by a coalition of homeowners and businesses who claim they withheld critical evidence that suggest it might not be safe to build there. >> if the towers are build, it will be a human and environmental tragedy. every neutral scientist has said this is a site that cannot be built upon much less with two skyscrapers. >> reporter: so fully understand the controversy, you have got to get off of the ground. from up here you get the best view, the proposed site is right down there, and it's 35 and 39-stories tall it dwarf the

famed capital records building, but it's what is happening beneath the surface of the street that is causing the most concern. >> the hollywood fault and the millennium project site is about at this location here. >> reporter: john paris has been studying the fault, and says l.a. is overdue for a big earthquake. >> it could generate between a 6.5 to 7 magnitude earthquake. we're talking about surface supture here with the hollywood fault, and surpraise rupture tends to destroy the foundation of the building. >> reporter: the city says they stand on solid ground literally and figuratively. >> if we base everything on fear on what might be, and we stop all economic development in los angeles, then we are in real trouble as a city. i think everyone needs to take a

deep breath, let the science and facts come in before we jump to conclusions. >> no one is saying we're against development. it has to be good, and legal development. no development can happen on top of a earthquake fault. that's state law and mother nature talking. >> reporter: ground breaking has now been suspended. leaving the future of the most ambitious project very much up in this the air, while all parties involved continue to argue about what is happening above and below ground. for the second time in two days we are talking about inclement weather, in this case snow once again. >> yeah, the pattern is really stuck. it is not a lot of snow, but just a little bit. temperatures just below freezing and could cause some problems on

the roadways. you can see where these areas of rain and snow have moved. we're getting these waves of moisture that move through. temperature in new york and washington just above freezing. the snow on the main roadways will be fine. it will be clearing out soon, and this is the last one. this will be followed by this cold arctic blast. the wind picks up, so the wind chills are well below zero. highs not above freezing. it will be dry at least for the most part. we are looking at lake-effect snows in pennsylvania, could see close to a foot. and the temperatures are dry but cold here in new york, wednesday, thursday, and friday. there is the arctic blast. this temperature was analyzed and happened in 2010. they measured it with satellite,

they don't send a freshman meteorologist to check that temperature. >> dave thank you very much. homeowners, one minute home he is. what is going on. talk rabbiting numbers we have more homeless school age kids in america than ever before. >> right. >> so we have to have a wh